Thai Nationality For Farangs

[YangYaiEric]

Hello.

I was wondering, what with all the problems we Farangs have with getting Visas to allow us to stay in the LOS, one possible solution could be to change nationality to Thai! But, what are the obstacles involved in trying to do this? I have benn married for over 20 years to my Thai wife, we have 2 children of our own, and 3 adopted children. We have a very comfortable life etc. (business, land, houses etc) in Thailand, and my plan is to spend the rest of my life in Thailand with my family(God Willing!)

So, is becoming a Thai citizen a valid option for me, and what are the requirements/advantages/pitfall? BTW, I'm a 51 y.o British National.

[sbk]

This thread covers it all The Story of My Thai Citizenship

[jumnien]

Yes, of course.

[sriracha john]

It's an option, but rather than say it's not a valid one, I'll say it's not a very viable one.

[moonhunt]

Hello.

I was wondering, what with all the problems we Farangs have with getting Visas to allow us to stay in the LOS, one possible solution could be to change nationality to Thai! But, what are the obstacles involved in trying to do this? I have benn married for over 20 years to my Thai wife, we have 2 children of our own, and 3 adopted children. We have a very comfortable life etc. (business, land, houses etc) in Thailand, and my plan is to spend the rest of my life in Thailand with my family(God Willing!)

So, is becoming a Thai citizen a valid option for me, and what are the requirements/advantages/pitfall? BTW, I'm a 51 y.o British National.

If I remember correctly about US immigration law, your citizenship will be revoked if you obtain citizenship from other countries intentionally.

[onethailand]

If I remember correctly about US immigration law, your citizenship will be revoked if you obtain citizenship from other countries intentionally.

First of all, the OP is a British National.

Secondly, the US has no such law revoking citizenship if you try to obtain dual nationality.

[jstumbo]

Hello.

I was wondering, what with all the problems we Farangs have with getting Visas to allow us to stay in the LOS, one possible solution could be to change nationality to Thai! But, what are the obstacles involved in trying to do this? I have benn married for over 20 years to my Thai wife, we have 2 children of our own, and 3 adopted children. We have a very comfortable life etc. (business, land, houses etc) in Thailand, and my plan is to spend the rest of my life in Thailand with my family(God Willing!)

So, is becoming a Thai citizen a valid option for me, and what are the requirements/advantages/pitfall? BTW, I'm a 51 y.o British National.

If I remember correctly about US immigration law, your citizenship will be revoked if you obtain citizenship from other countries intentionally.

Only a couple of ways to lose your US citizenship. Not really a concern here since the OP is British.

One way to lose your US citizenship is if you lied when you applied for your US citizenship, then it can be stripped from you. They do this when they find nazi prison guards and things like that.

Another way is to stand in front of a state department official and officially renounce your US citizenship. You can get as many other nationalities as you want, but if you do not go to the US consulate/embassy and go through the process of renouncing your citizenship, you are still a US citizen.

[chatette]

I can not imagine why Sriracha John describes Thai nationality as `not a very viable' option for the OP. He's certainly been here long enough to qualify for PR if he doesn't yet have that status and to apply for citizenship if he has had PR for the requisite period.

Getting Thai citizenship is not a daunting process. It just requires waiting out the processing time, which ranges from 1 to 10 years among cases I know of. My own application was lodged in 2001 and approved two months ago. I was out of the country for 4 years after submission and waited 6 months before advising I was back, so the processing was on hold for 4 1/2 of the 6 yr gap. Hardly a long wait.

Since the OP is planning to stay in Thailand, he has nothing to lose by applying.

[cloudhopper]

If I remember correctly about US immigration law, your citizenship will be revoked if you obtain citizenship from other countries intentionally.

First of all, the OP is a British National.

Secondly, the US has no such law revoking citizenship if you try to obtain dual nationality.

The US does in fact not allow dual citizenship, and, either coming or going, will ask you to surrender which ever passport you don't want. In the case of coming, most immigrants are eventually given their surrendered passports back anyway by the old country, so they have de-facto dual citizenship. Not the worry of the OP, but Uncle Sam gives his former nieces and nephews who scorn him a very hard time indeed...

More to the original point of the thread, who in their right mind would want to (try to) travel around the world on a Thai passport? I easily qualify for permanent resident status here, but again - why bother?

[toolonginexile]

who WANTS to be become a thai citizen???

just to solve all these visa problems??? not sure about double nationality but personally i wouldn't lose my german nationality just for the sake of gaining thai citizenship.

[abdulrahman]

More to the original point of the thread, who in their right mind would want to (try to) travel around the world on a Thai passport? I easily qualify for permanent resident status here, but again - why bother?

I believe you see the question only from one side!

I would like to have PM status in Thailand,but no it's not worth the effort and/or the money.(for myself).

With the Thai cityzenship I could travel around SEA much easier,but, again,not worth it.

[thai_narak]

a horse can look like donkey but will not become one.

Edited November 5, 2007 by thai_narak

[lopburi3]

Please do not post false information - the US has no laws preventing dual nationality and does not confiscate passports. The only requirement is that you use your US passport for entry/exit of the US.

[Jingthing]

The real question is how much would you pay NOT to be a Thai citizen? Sorry, but really, very few of us are interested in the slightest. Permanent residency, yes.

[Boo]

Sorry, but really, very few of us are interested in the slightest.

so why are you even bothering to post on a thread about getting thai nationality then?.

[Jingthing]

Sorry, but really, very few of us are interested in the slightest.

so why are you even bothering to post on a thread about getting thai nationality then?.

If you think my point is that trivial, why are you bothering asking me?

I do have a reason but I think I won't tell you.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Jingthing

[Boo]

I'll put it more simplistically then.... If you don't want thai nationality then fine but don't knock anyone for wanting to do so. Hopefully that should be clear enough.

To the op, read tthrough the link sbk gave you, it contains a lot of information.

[jstumbo]

The US does in fact not allow dual citizenship, and, either coming or going, will ask you to surrender which ever passport you don't want. In the case of coming, most immigrants are eventually given their surrendered passports back anyway by the old country, so they have de-facto dual citizenship. Not the worry of the OP, but Uncle Sam gives his former nieces and nephews who scorn him a very hard time indeed...

Sorry Cloudhopper, but I know many people with dual citizenship, with one country being the US.

From the US State Department Website:

The concept of dual nationality means that a person is a citizen of two countries at the same time. Each country has its own citizenship laws based on its own policy.Persons may have dual nationality by automatic operation of different laws rather than by choice. For example, a child born in a foreign country to U.S. citizen parents may be both a U.S. citizen and a citizen of the country of birth. A U.S. citizen may acquire foreign citizenship by marriage, or a person naturalized as a U.S. citizen may not lose the citizenship of the country of birth.U.S. law does not mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one citizenship or another. Also, a person who is automatically granted another citizenship does not risk losing U.S. citizenship. However, a person who acquires a foreign citizenship by applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship. In order to lose U.S. citizenship, the law requires that the person must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up U.S. citizenship.

Intent can be shown by the person's statements or conduct.The U.S. Government recognizes that dual nationality exists but does not encourage it as a matter of policy because of the problems it may cause. Claims of other countries on dual national U.S. citizens may conflict with U.S. law, and dual nationality may limit U.S. Government efforts to assist citizens abroad. The country where a dual national is located generally has a stronger claim to that person's allegiance.

However, dual nationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country. They are required to obey the laws of both countries. Either country has the right to enforce its laws, particularly if the person later travels there.Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave that country. Use of the foreign passport does not endanger U.S. citizenship.Most countries permit a person to renounce or otherwise lose citizenship.

Information on losing foreign citizenship can be obtained from the foreign country's embassy and consulates in the United States. Americans can renounce U.S. citizenship in the proper form at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

[samran]

I'll shortly be applying for my wife to become a Thai national. For us it will mean that we can both own land and property together, and that we don't have to put up with visa extensions for her.

The only uncertainty is how long it will take though.